1. Area of the Art
The present invention relates generally to an electrical power management device capable of shutting off the power to an electrical product so that it does not waste power while in an idle mode, also known as standby power usage or phantom load. Specifically, this invention discloses a device that measures the phantom load for an electrical product, and then automatically and completely shuts off all power to the electrical product when it detects that the product is drawing phantom load for a continuous, predetermined length of time.
2. Description of the Background Art
Many home and other electronic products consume a certain amount of energy when turned off called phantom load, idle power, or standby power. Since most electronic products are idle for most of the time, an enormous amount of energy is thereby wasted.
Below are rough estimates of the idle power consumption of common home electronic products:
1. TV (2 sets): 10 W×2=20 W (idle 19 hr/day)
2. Stereo, DVD: 5 W (idle 21 hr/day)
3. Computer and peripherals (including computer host, display, printer, scanner, etc): 45 W (idle 21 hr/day)
4. Microwave oven: 5 W (idle 23 hr/day)
5. Washing machine: 5 W (idle 22 hr/day)
6. Various chargers: 2 W (idle 20 hr/day)
7. Air conditioner (2 sets): 5 W×2=10 W (in use 12 hr/day)
8. Rice cooker: 5 W (22 hr/day)
9. Fan: 3 W (12 hr/day)
10. Dish washer: 5 W (22 hr/day)
11. Dish dryer: 5 W (22 hr/day)
The daily idle power consumption for these products total: (20×19)+(5×21)+(45×21)+(5×23)+(5×22)+(2×20)+(10×12)+(5×22)+(3×12)+(5×22)+(5×22)=2181 W (2.181 KW). The monthly idle power consumption would be 2181×30=65430 W (65.430 KW) with a yearly idle power consumption of 65430×12=785160 W (785.160 KW)=785.160 units of electrical power.
If each unit of electrical power is NT$3.465, the idle power consumption each year would cost 785.16×3.465=NT$2720.58.
This needless waste not only increases consumers' utility costs, but also results in increased carbon production which has an adverse impact on the environment.
According to a formula of Taiwan Power Company (TPC), the wasted electrical power listed above would produce 500.728 kg of carbon dioxide.
Extrapolating the above calculation, the idle power consumption from a million families is 78,516,000 KW each year, which produces 500,727.938 tons of carbon dioxide.
Conventional ways to reduce this wasted energy include simply unplugging the electronic device, or attaching the device to a power strip, and then turning off the power strip. Both of these methods are inconvenient for they require the user to remember either to unplug the device after each use or to turn off the power strip. In addition, power strips normally support a plurality of devices so it is necessary to have a power strip with a switch for each outlet to avoid powering down the wrong device.
From the preceding descriptions, it is apparent that the devices and methods currently being used to turn off idle power have significant disadvantages and/or limitations. Thus, important aspects of the technology used in the field of invention remain amenable to useful refinement.